The association had a rally near the Capitol, and victims spoke about the importance of the legislation, which has stalled in recent years.

“We need the CPR in Schools bill passed, so that parents can watch their children grow up,” Suzy McCarthy of Evans, Erie County, who lost her daughter, Madison, to sudden cardiac arrest when Madison was five years old 13 years ago, according to a news release.

The bill would require the education commissioner to make recommendations to the Board of Regents to require high schools to train students in CPR and the use of automated defibrillators, the so-called AEDs.

Katarina Weigel, of Yorktown Heights, Westchester County, survived a heart attack during a volleyball game four years ago.

“Because my coaches were trained in CPR and took immediate action, I’m in college,” Weigel said in a statement. “I’m proof of two things – sudden cardiac arrest can strike anyone, and CPR saves lives.

Albany bureau chief:
Joseph Spector is Gannett's Albany Bureau chief and has covered New York politics and government since 2002. He was the political reporter for the Democrat and Chronicle in Rochester and in 2007 joined Gannett’s Albany Bureau, covering state government for seven news organizations&nbsp;and USA Today.